Second Chances
by Evil Asian Genius
Summary: An old enemy returns. A new girl joins the household. All at the same time! Kagato returns...as a girl? Chapter 3 now available!
1. Prologue: Ohaiyo!

Prologue: Ohaiyo!

Today, unlike other days, held a still morning calm.  Tenchi turned over in his bed, and absently wiped a stray trickle of saliva away from the corner of his mouth, before pulling a night-chilled limb back under the covers.  Lazily relaxing, he yawned and stretched in his bed, and snuggled himself deeper into the warmth of his comforter.  Suddenly, a faint 'whoosh' of air announced the usual unexpected visitor.  Or so he thought.

He decided to pretend he was still asleep.  After all, it had worked at least once before.  Maybe she'd just leave him alone so he could get some more sleep.  Yet he soon felt the edge of his bed depress from the weight of another.  So that's how it was going to be this time.  His nerves danced with tingling anxiety, but he resolved to stay still to see how it would play out.

A gentle hand reached out and delicately ran along the length of his body.  Tenchi kept his eyes shut, envisioning the graceful girl beyond, all sinuous curves and bountiful charms.  Inwardly, he giggled in nervous anticipation.  Outwardly, certain southern elements were slowly rising to the occasion.

Tenchi could hear her getting closer to him, leaning down toward his face, and he chanced a tiny, unfocused peek through his eyelashes.  He caught a sliver of a glimpse of silvery pale hair, and a green dress?  Well, she must have gotten something new just for him.  His excitement increased to near-nosebleed levels.

He could feel her hot breath against his cheek, peering close.  Perhaps she was wondering if he was still asleep.  Tenchi secretly smiled to himself without revealing the slightest possibility that he was still awake.  This time, he vowed, he would surprise her instead of the other way around.

Suddenly, without warning, Tenchi threw off his bedcovers and embraced the figure on his bed, pushing her down against the springy mattress.  He pulled her close in a rush and tangle of warm limbs, feeling her graceful curves against his body.

"Ha!  Surprise!"

Tenchi opened his eyes.  A pair of crimson-in-yellow pupils turned their startled attention toward him over an elegant set of darkened lenses.  The tiny glasses caught a hint of Tenchi's reflection.

"Good morning, Tenchi," a deep, sultry voice stated with an exceptionally sharp smile.

Tenchi's screams could be heard for miles.

This was going to be a long morning.

________________________________________________________________________

Tenchi Muyo in Love 15: Kagato in Love!  

Ayeka It is absolutely disgusting.  

Ryoko God hates us.


	2. Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Pickle

Second Chances

Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Pickle

            For some people, mastering chopsticks requires a multitude of visits to Chinese restaurants and time poorly spent on squinting at the ill-conceived pictoral instructions on the packaging of disposable, splintery chopsticks.  For Kagato, it took a minute or two, with the application of observation, calculation, and an initial attempt at stabbing the offending food object through the eye.

            "This.  A vertebrate.  What is it?"  Kagato gestured impatiently with her chopsticks at the lightly charred skin of the fish.  Pink flesh peered out moistly from beneath.

            "Grilled salmon."  It came out terser than he meant, and Katsuhito irritably wondered what was taking the girls so long getting Washu.  Her lab was just through the living room closet.  He then wondered why he had bothered sparing this woman from the combined wrath of Ryoko and Ayeka.  Oh, that's right, he thought.  A misguided sense of justice.  Almost forgot about that.

            "Which is...?"

            "A local aquatic vertebrate used for food."  Katsuhito feigned nonchalance at Kagato's piercing gaze.  Those eyes were oddly pretty, in their own strange and perversely evil manner.  Katsuhito looked away, pretending to pick at a fishbone.

            "Why is it cooked?"  A look of disgust crossed her face.

            "It's a local custom."  Katsuhito set down his chopsticks and took a sip of tea, careful not to appear as if he were staring.  Not that he was, really.  After all, this was still Kagato, even if she was shapely, boyishly slender, and had a pair of rather nice breasts hiding under that form-fitting green dress.  Was this girl really Kagato?  Katsuhito hoped not.  He wondered if Kagato had ever had a sister by the same name.  It wasn't impossible.  There were many different strange societies of people in the universe.

            Katsuhito took a deep breath, and suppressed a sigh.  This was definitely one of the most unusual breakfasts he had ever had.  At least, ever since that morning that he tried serving his parents breakfast in bed when he was a child.  Now that was memorable.  Katsuhito silently prayed that this breakfast wouldn't end in nudity.  On second thought, maybe he did...no.  Katsuhito forcibly put the thought aside. After all, this was probably Kagato.

            "And this thing. Some sort of vegetable?  Why is it this color?  It appears to be artificial."  Kagato peered sidewise at the damp, strange-smelling yellow slices.

            "Pickled daikon."

            "Pickled?"

            "It's a local form of food preservation where the food is preserved in brine or vinegar."

            "I see."  Kagato let her eyes run over the rest of the unfamiliar dishes set about the table.  No use for further questioning; experience had taught her that experiment was still the best solution to solving problems, both scientific and breakfast.  One last look and it was time to try.

            Her chopsticks reached out to a nearby dish whose red color looked particularly appealing to her tastes.  This looked like something similar to...to what?  Kagato couldn't remember.  Well, it didn't matter, her system required food, and no matter how appalling or barbaric it appeared, she would just have to cope with it.  Kagato took an experimental bite.  Her expression changed significantly.

            Katsuhito tried not to laugh.  He reached out to pour her some more tea.  She had such delicate hands with long, slender fingers.  He wondered if she had ever...no.

            "What.  Is.  This?"  Kagato managed to choke out.  Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him as she quickly set down the little red pickle of doom, and took a long drink of tea to clear out the offensively sour flavor.

            "Umeboshi.  A pickled plum."

            "Are you trying to poison me?"

            "It's an acquired taste.  Perhaps you should try something else.  The miso soup is very good this morning."

            "What is miso?  Another form of pickle?  These colonists seem far too fond of such food preservation methods."

            "Fermented soybean paste."

            Kagato set down the bowl of rice, looking downright murderous.  Katsuhito sighed, and took another sip of tea.  Perhaps another strategy was in order.

            "So, is this your first time on earth?"

"Miss Washu!  Miss Washu!"  The frantic pounding on her laboratory door resounded neatly with her headache.  Mumbling to herself, Washu dragged her head painfully up from her previous reclining position.  Last night had been a particularly long night.  Her experiment had somehow glitched, and she had spent the rest of the night painfully sorting through millions of lines of code to find the bug.  Painfully.  Her head throbbed at the effort.

            "Yes, yes, what is it?  And that's 'Little Washu.'"  Somehow that didn't feel so funny this morning.  Good gods, all she wanted was a nice quiet morning to sleep in and…

            Ayeka peeped in through the door.  "Excuse me. Washu-chan, I'm sorry to bother you this early, but…you'll have to see this one for yourself."

            "Well, whatever it is, it'd better be good."  Washu pulled herself straight, stood up, and started stalking toward the main house.  What was it with these people?  Just one quiet morning was all she wanted, and now she was getting dragged out for yet another 'emergency.'  What was it this time; did Ryo-ohki eat all the daikon too?  Turning the corner toward the dining room, as she followed Ayeka, Washu resumed her tirade.  "Because if this isn't earth-shattering, someone's going to…Sweet Mother of Tsunami, what in the…"

            Kagato looked up from her breakfast, turning to stare at Washu, her eyes slowly taking in the diminutive scientist.  Seated across from her, Katsuhito shrugged helplessly at Washu as the rest of the household stood about nervously, as if waiting for Washu to make a final assessment.  Washu tensed, preparing for the worst.   Instantly, her mind calculated the odds of Kagato appearing.  Not completely unlikely, but as a woman?  A woman?  Suddenly her brain felt as glitchy as last night's experiment.

"You."  Kagato's voice came in a clipped, almost authoritative tone.  An odd look crossed Kagato's face, and she reached up to adjust her pince-nez.    Washu mentally prepared herself, silently arming her defenses, ready to launch an array of offensive attacks and neutralizers should they come.  What sort of trick was this?

"I absolutely adore what you've done with your hair.  It's quite stylish."  As if to accentuate the point, Kagato brushed back her own loose lock of silvery-pale hair.  

Washu then, did the absolutely most logical thing that any of the other contenders for the title of the greatest genius in the universe would have done in her place.  She face-faulted.

"Okay, both of you stop talking.  You first, Ayeka."  Washu rubbed at her temples as the girls sat around her in the living room.  She could faintly hear Katsuhito and Kagato talking from the other room.  Was she flirting with him?  Light laughter filled the air.  Washu did *not* want to know.  She turned her attention back to Ayeka.

"…So you see, Washu-chan, that's when I heard Tenchi cry out.  Naturally, I assumed that this was Ryoko's doing, but then, when we both ran into each other running to his room, we realized it was something else."  Ayeka worked the edge of her cloth belt nervously in her fingers.

"Right."  Ryoko cut in.  "That's when we found Tenchi in bed with…with…it."

Ayeka glared at Ryoko.  "We were both about to do something about it when Grandfather came up to see what was going on.  But it was very strange.  She didn't seem to recognize any of us.  Only Tenchi."  
            "Then the old coot sent us out of the room and told us to get you to figure out what to do.  Of course, I stayed to make sure that Tenchi was safe," Ryoko added.

            "I'm scared, Washu.  What if he wants to hurt us?"  Sasami looked distraught.  Ryo-ohki's eyes were filled with sadness and concern, as she pressed closer against Sasami.

            "That bastard wouldn't be able to, not with me around," Ryoko stated defiantly, her hands clenched into fists.  A spark of hate flashed through her eyes.  She wasn't about to let anyone else get revenge before her.

            "And me," Ayeka added softly, her hand squeezing her sister's reassuringly.

Washu's voice took on a quiet, deadly serious tone.  "We don't know who this person is.  They look like Kagato, but we have to first find out who this person is and what they want.  And make certain that this is Kagato.  Maybe I can convince her to let me examine her.  Then I can find out for certain."

Or not.

"No.  That is impossible."  Kagato leaned back comfortably against the cushions of the couch, and looked up at the ceiling.  A pair of feral yellow eyes glared at him from a thick wooden roofing beam before disappearing with a soft whoosh.  Kagato blinked, and then turned her attention back to Washu.

Internally, Washu fumed.  She had expected her to be resistant, she had expected her to be treacherous, but knowing that didn't make things easier.  And she thought that Ryoko was an infernal little bitch when it came to talking her into a physical exam.

"Oh, come on.  You've probably never had a medical examination in your life.  Why don't I give you a check-up?  In case you've caught some virus or have some disease that we can't diagnose from visual observation."

"I'll take my chances."  A movement caught her eye and she turned her head to see a pair of crimson eyes glaring at her as Ayeka walked past the couch.  Kagato chanced a half-smile, only to be met with an indignant humph and a quickened step.

"So tell me, Kagato, since you don't want me to help you out.  Where did you come from?  Why are you here?"

"Well, if the machines were correct, I am approximately three days old today.  I woke up in a vat of goo about 70 hours ago, I think.  Oh my, almost four.  What lovely milestones I'm making today."

Washu's jaw dropped.  Three days?  THREE DAYS?  She quickly got her expression in order.

"Th…that doesn't explain why you're here."

"Oh, that."  Kagato waved her hand dismissively.  "My memories are incomplete, but I do remember a few things.  Most notably, Tenchi.  I thought by coming here I could solve the lack of complete memories.  Plus, I believe he owes me one, as it were.  After all, he did kill me.  Well, at least the original."

"You know about that?  How do you know!"

"Please."  Kagato rolled her eyes.  "Any half-witted child armed with a name and some patience can bring up the information via Galactic Network.  See?"  Kagato raised her hands and a spectral screen appeared.  She typed out a few words, and suddenly news report after news report cycled through the screen on the demise of the Ruins Buster.  She turned the screen disparagingly toward Washu.

Washu took a deep breath.  As she opened her mouth to speak, Ryo-ohki peeked out from behind a chair, her long silver-blue hair cascading around her shoulders, tiny fingers clutching the side of the chair, the edge of her little carrot dress pressed against the heavy upholstered fabric.

Kagato suddenly stood up and walked over.  Quickly.  Washu sprang up, ready to protect the child-formed Ryo-ohki as Kagato fell to her knees before her.  Ryo-ohki's eyes grew wide with surprise, her nose testing the air with all the enhanced senses of a cabbit.

Kagato pressed her hands against Ryo-ohki's shoulders, and looked closely into her crystalline eyes.  

"Ryo…ohki?"

Ryo-ohki nodded shyly.  A little 'miya' escaped her lips.

"Oh!"  Kagato pulled Ryo-ohki close in one quick movement, clutching her tight.  Washu nearly fell over herself trying to run over to the two.

"Oh my poor little Ryo-ohki!  What have these people been doing to you?  Has that nasty Washu done something awful to my precious one?"

Washu hit the floor with a thud.

An hour later, Ryoko and Kagato were sitting on the couch, Ryoko barely managing to contain her anger and bitterness at the whole situation.  Washu had stomped off to her lab for some 'research' and had charged Ryoko and Ayeka with the task of 'keeping Kagato company,' but that damned Ayeka had decided to weasel out of the situation by saying she had to go care for her little sister.  

Ryoko muttered to herself.  "Coward."

            "Hmm?"  Kagato finally broke the tense silence between them.

            "It's none of your business.  Why don't you go drink some more of that tea of yours?"  Ryoko crossed her arms, and looked away.

            "Yes.  Thank you."  Kagato looked at the heavy ceramic cup in her hands, the ridged mug radiating heat to her hands.  Such a sensation.  She took a sip of the delicately flavored tea, letting the steam rise up around her face and gently cloud her pince-nez.  She turned her head towards the window.  Outside, the snow fell silently, masking the world in whiteness.

            "Ryoko."

            Ryoko turned back to Kagato irritably.  "What?"

            "It's a pleasure to finally meet you.  I've read so much about you."

            Ryoko hid her initial surprise behind a mask of hostility.

            "Don't play your games with me, Kagato.  I don't care what you look like.  You're still you with all your stupid tricks.  You know who I am."

            "Do I?"  Kagato breathed into the cup, and inhaled the fragrant vapors evaporating off of the hot tea.  "There's not a lot I remember."

            "You remembered Washu."

            "Yes."

            "You remembered Ryo-ohki."

            "Yes.  That was a surprise to both of us, I believe."

            "You remembered Tenchi."

            "Yes."

            "You don't remember me."

            "No."

            "Drink your tea."

            This was ridiculous.  Tenchi knew he should listen to the dictates of his grandfather, but he was starving.  It was already mid-morning, and the noise from downstairs had subsided to the usual morning bustle, albeit with less broken dishes.  Mihoshi must be sleeping in, he thought.

            But enough was enough.  He had finished his morning ablutions over an hour ago, and had been sitting around half-heartedly trying to finish some math homework, with the bulk of his attention attuned to the sounds of the household for signs of danger.  If by now they had decided that whoever woke him up so unexpectedly this morning was dangerous, he would have known.  Tenchi decided to go down.

            "Ohaiyo, every…" His words trailed off as he descended the staircase.  

Ryoko and Kagato were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, studiously ignoring each other.  Ryoko and Kagato.  The way the two of them sat, with their basic postures and expressions identical.  Both unconsciously mirroring each other.  Tenchi blinked as if to clear away the image.  So that's where she got it from, Tenchi thought, astonished.  All this time he thought that it came from Washu…

            "Oh, good morning Tenchi!"  Ryoko quickly floated up toward him, glad to be excused from her tiresome guest.  She folded her arms around him familiarly, and pressed her cheek to his.  "And how are you this morning?"

            Tenchi flailed, his mind still on the red-in-yellow eyes that watched the two of them ironically.

            "Um, hi Ryoko.  Heh, I was just thinking of what a wonderful breakfast Sasami must have for us."  He gently shrugged her off, and continued down the stairs.  Kagato raised her hand over her mouth, hiding a trace of a sharp smile.

            Just then, another pair of feet came clattering down the stairs, knocking Tenchi off balance.  Ryoko quickly reached out to steady him.

            "Oh my, I must have overslept again!  Sasami-chan!  Do you need help with the dishes?"  Mihoshi pattered down the stairs, her hair in a happy disarray, as she absently tugged her morning coat on over her pajamas.

            Mihoshi froze when she saw Kagato sitting by herself on the couch.  

"WAH?!"

Kagato raised a hand and waved to Mihoshi, a little sarcastic motion of her fingers.  Tenchi's eyes followed Mihoshi as she raced back up the stairs.  He turned to Ryoko.

            "Did she just say that she knows what to do?"

            Ryoko shrugged helplessly.

            Suddenly, Mihoshi ran back in and pounded down the stairs, lugging a splashing plastic tub of water.  Droplets flew as she skidded to a halt behind Kagato.

            "I saw this in on TV once!  It should work!"  Mihoshi announced triumphantly, as she dumped the contents of the tub onto Kagato's head.  Kagato coughed and sputtered in surprise as lukewarm soapy water poured down her head, soaking her to the skin.  A few bras, followed by some underwear splatted wetly onto her shoulders and head.

            Tenchi's eyes grew wide, and he ran back upstairs, holding a hand to his nose, Ryoko following in his wake.

            "Uh oh."  Mihoshi's expression grew sheepish as Kagato stood up and turned around, a pair of panties falling to the floor behind her.  Kagato's eyes gleamed with anger.

"Um, I guess that didn't work?"  Mihoshi giggled nervously.

            "If you wanted to make me very angry, then yes, that did work."

            "Oh.  I thought maybe you would turn back into a boy.  You know, like on TV."

Kagato merely glared.  A bra slid off Kagato's shoulder and landed with a wet slap onto the ground.

"Er…let me get you a towel…"

            "Is this another one of your local customs?  Taking baths on the furniture in the middle of the house?"  Kagato wrung water out of her sleeves furiously.  Impatiently, she began to unbutton the top of her dress.  

            Katsuhito's eyes widened momentarily, before he feigned nonchalance, coughing into one hand.

            "I'm terribly sorry.  Mihoshi can be…enthusiastic."

            "Well, this is ridiculous.  This dress is ruined."  Kagato pulled off the rest of the top of her dress, letting it hang around her slim bare waist as she turned to wring water out of her hair, puddles of soapy liquid pooling on the linoleum of the kitchen floor.  

            Katsuhito turned slightly pink, and grew increasingly flushed as Kagato moved to slide the rest of the dress off.

            "Well, um…oh, hello, Mihoshi.  Why don't you take our guest to the onsen where she can freshen up?"  

            "Oh, Miss Kagato!  Um…aren't you cold?  You…um…look a little…er…perky…  Do you want a towel?  I brought two.  This one's pink because all the girls use the pink towels, but this one's green, because I thought maybe you might like a green towel and…and…Miss Kagato?"

            Kagato glared at Katsuhito, her scarlet eyes flashing.  He looked away, embarrassed.

            "Point it out to me, I can find it myself."

            "Daaaad!  What are you doing?"  Tenchi had found his father with a pair of high-powered binoculars in the upstairs sitting area.  "I thought you said you bought this for bird watching!" 

"It's a special kind of bird, Tenchi.  I'm just doing a little research on our visitor."  Nobuyuki looked up at Tenchi for a second, and winked.  "Now quiet, I'm trying to…ooh, that's nice.  She might be cold, but she's got some legs to die for."

Tenchi sighed, exasperated.

"Dad, will you cut it out?"

"Oh come on, I'm just having a little fun.  What's the harm in it?"

"Dad, you do know that she used to be a man, right?"

            "Really?"  Nobuyuki paused as he refocused the binoculars.  "Well, they're doing some really great things with surgery these days."

            Kagato took a deep, calming breath.  Above her, snow fell onto the clear dome, melting and dissipating as it hit the warm glass.  Around her, wisps of hot steam curled about her as she sank deeper into the hot water, the soothing heat soaking into her limbs, making her finally realize how cold her surface temperature had been.  She stared at her body, made up of pale flawless skin unblemished by scars.  She let her fingers drift to the soft, rounded breasts and other secondary sex characteristics that established her gender to the world.

            This was her body, yet it was not.

            She let her mind sweep through a kaleidoscope of broken memories and incomplete data, thousands of technical terms, impressively long numerical sequences, and the rush of power as thousands of tons of metal, stone, and ceramic moved at her command.  A sherd of memory, the refusal to indulge in such physical tactile experiences as hot baths.  A sensation, the overriding cold of loneliness.

            Kagato sighed, and let herself sink further into the water until her whole body was immersed, her long hair floating about her in a silvery-blue veil.  She held her breath; she closed her eyes, as the water gently lapped about her, and imagined being born again into this world, rising from the waters.

            "Ta da!"  Washu unveiled a grab-bag assortment of various devices.  Little metal and wooden toys bounced around, spun, or vibrated off the coffee table as she dumped them out.  "As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, if I can't get her to submit to a test, these probes can secretly seek and collect samples for me.  I'll put them everywhere.  All I need is a hair!"  Washu gloated, rubbing her hands together.  "It's so perfect!  Oh, I am such a genius."

            "Yeah, you just keep saying that, mom."  Ryoko rolled her eyes in exasperation as everyone crowded around to see Washu's latest and greatest.  Good luck, she thought.  You're going to need it.

            Kagato yawned and stretched.  That was enough of that.  As she stepped out of the steamy bath, her hair plastered wetly to her shoulders, a movement flickered out of the corner of her eyes.  Without thinking, almost as though it were instinctual, her hand lashed out and a pure beam of green light shot out, blasting something into pieces.

            Kagato shrugged.  Oh well.  Hopefully it wasn't something too valuable, she thought.  Suddenly, something else moved behind her and she spun around to meet it…

            "Damnit!  Three down!  Well, not to worry…I've got another three hundred thousand of these babies…" Washu grinned as she activated a dozen little probes…

            Three weeks and two hundred thousand nine hundred ninety nine probes later…

            "You do realize that your efforts are futile, don't you?"  Kagato stated coolly, as her chopsticks dipped into the hot udon bowl, deliciously scented steam fogging up her pince-nez.  

            "I'll get you tomorrow."  Washu busily mixed up the various vegetables into her soup.  "I've got time."

            "Time?  You'll need more than that, my dear."  Kagato delicately picked out a limp square of seaweed, examining it closely.

            "Oh yeah?  Well who's the greatest scientific genius in the universe?  It definitely isn't you."  Washu stabbed a pink and white slice of fish cake and shoved it in her mouth, chewing furiously.

            "No, but I hear it's short fuzzy girl with an attitude problem.  Oh, what was her name again?  Started with a 'Y'?"  Kagato finally decided to put the seaweed into her mouth, and chewed experimentally.

            "You haven't changed a bit in the last five thousand years.  You're still the smarmy little bottle-washing assistant who can't stand to lose.  Oh, you know I'll get you on my lab table if it's the last thing that I do."  Washu glared as she sprinkled Japanese sansho pepper into her bowl.

            "Try me."  Kagato poked at the fish cake, trying to decide what kind of food amalgam it was.  Just because Washu ate it didn't mean that it was palatable.  She had always felt that Washu's taste was irrevocably bad.

            "Um, girls, do you mind?  We're trying to have a nice dinner and…"

            "YOU STAY OUT OF THIS, TENCHI."  Kagato and Washu fumed at each other as they realized they had both spoken simultaneously, before turning away to studiously ignore each other.

            Ryoko nudged Ayeka, and they both rolled their eyes.

            "They're totally hopeless."

            "Utterly incorrigible."

Disclaimers and thanks:  
  
All characters belong to AIC and Pioneer.  
Thanks to all those who should be thanked (you know who you are). 

I'd also like to specially thank SC, Cyrus, and Mary for their help in pre- reading.

  
Author's notes:  
A visit to Kagato's lab!  Non-stop girl-girl action!  And who's Kagato's long-lost boyfriend?!  All this and more, in future chapters of "Second Chances."  
  
Questions and comments can be sent to cori_ohki@hotmail.com Or leave a review, if you like. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 2: Strange Bedfellows

**Second Chances**

**Chapter 2:  Strange Bedfellows**

The Touching 

            In the darkness, a tiny light flickered.  Silently.  Rhythmically.  Blinkingly. 

3:34 A.M.  

            "Mmmmm…oh yes…Kiyone…you're so…mmmmm….mmfpphffssffff…" Mihoshi's drowsy mumble faded as her face planted itself squarely against Kagato's neck.  Mihoshi's hot breath pressed unrelentingly against Kagato and the rest of her body soon followed suit.

            Kagato lay wide awake, her eyes staring at the unadorned wooden beams of the ceiling.  Penetratingly.  Unyieldingly.  Ready to planet-crunch, if she could just remember where she put that damn ship.

            Enough was enough.  This was the third time in five nights that Mihoshi had managed to worm her way out of her futon and into Kagato's, and it was time to do something about it.

            Irritably, Kagato wondered whether expending the energy it took to teleport the two of them over the lake and dump Mihoshi in would be worth the effort, or if a simple and effective shove would work better.

            Suddenly, a warm, moist hand wormed its way into her pajama bottoms.  

            "Oh Kiyone…"

            Seconds later, a faint light appeared over the lake accompanied by a tremendous splash.

            "WAH!  I'm all wet!" Mihoshi wailed as she bobbed and sputtered in the freezing night water, her bright blonde hair a streak of gold on black, the loosened top of her yellow ducky pajamas floating about her.

"Yes, and that was why I dumped you in the lake."  Kagato floated a few feet above the splashing waves, the pale green flame in her hand illuminating the pink bunnies on her pajamas, giving them an eerie cast.

"You're so mean to me!" Mihoshi's lower lip trembled as icy waves splashed across her face.

Kagato's eyes narrowed.  "We have had this conversation before, Mihoshi.  There is to be no touching, especially in bed."

Mihoshi's lips trembled even more.  A glint of moisture appeared in the corner of her eyes that had absolutely nothing to do with the dunking she just received.

"Fine.  Let us return to the house."  With that, Kagato caught up Mihoshi by the scruff of her pajamas, and the two of them disappeared in a blink.

            "Here."  As they appeared inside the confines of the house, Kagato tossed Mihoshi a bathrobe.

            "Where did you get that?"  Mihoshi was astonished.

            "Somewhere.  Nowhere.  I don't know, don't ask me these things," Kagato muttered as she leaned glumly against the kitchen counter.  She picked at a pink bunny on her pajamas.  How was she to know that these things weren't carnivorous on this backwards hick planet?  These had always been her favorite animals back when she was a little boy.  Ryoko had nearly busted a lung laughing when they ran into each other in the hallway the other night.

            Across the kitchen, Mihoshi shivered pathetically, an occasional sniffle coming from her as she left damp marks and puddles of lake water on the tile.      

"Why are you so mean to me?"  Mihoshi whimpered.  Kagato looked away from her at the floor, mildly disgusted.  Though part of her was not sure who she was more disgusted at.  The disgust levels rose considerably after that little epiphany.

            "Because you're still talking."

            "You're an awful, awful person."

            "You don't say."

            "Why are you so horrible to me?"

            "We have already discussed this touching thing before, Mihoshi.  I don't like it.  You don't do it to me.  If you do, I get angry.  When I get angry, unpleasant things happen.  Perhaps you should ask Ryoko about 'what happens when Kagato gets angry.'  I'm sure it would be enlightening."

            At that, the floodgates opened, and tears poured down Mihoshi's cheeks.

            Kagato winced internally as Mihoshi sobbed into the sleeve of her bathrobe, soaking the only marginally dry piece of clothing she had on with her tears.  

            "You hate me!"  Mihoshi wailed.

            "Quiet you…no…wait, I don't hate…ah, damnit."  Kagato cursed.  If Mihoshi kept up this infernal racket at this hour, half the house would be downstairs in seconds.  Kagato racked her brains for clues as to how to deal with the situation.  Suddenly inspiration struck in the form of commercial television.

            "Listen, Mihoshi.  Why don't we sit down and have a nice cup of…cup of…hot cocoa?"  Kagato said, as she mentally ran through her limited knowledge of low budget daytime television.

            "Really?  So you don't hate me?"  Mihoshi wiped away the remnants of her tears.

            "No, I don't hate you."  Kagato began to count prime numbers up to seventeen digits to keep herself calm.

            "Can we have hot cocoa together then?"  Mihoshi visibly brightened.

            "Yes, we may.  But first answer me this one question, and then I can see what I can to do about getting you a hot cocoa."

            "What is it?"

            "What's hot cocoa?"

            Hot cocoa appeared to be the very incarnate of liquid hell: hot, sickly sweet, and made with lactose products.  Kagato's eye twitched as she forced herself to take another sip.  Gods, it tasted bad.  She could feel her blood pressure rise and her stomach churn as Mihoshi babbled away happily.

            "…So then Kiyone said to me, 'Hey dumbass, watch what you're doing!'  And then things started blowing up and, oh my, it was a really big explosion and then later it turns out that we were lucky because I only scraped the paint on Yukinojo but he wasn't too happy about it because he said he wanted to go on a date with this really hot ship that he had met last week and then Kiyone got mad and yelled at me and said something about putting me in the airlock and…"

            "…And what an interesting adventure it was." Kagato finished, as she set down her cup of cocoa with a sense of finality.  She was beginning to like this Kiyone character more and more.  Airlocks.  She smiled faintly to herself.

            "Exactly!  Next time I have to make Kiyone come back with me so you can meet her, because Kiyone's the best partner in the whole wide universe!  She's always telling me that if it wasn't for me, she'd be the highest ranking Galaxy Police officer in the whole force!"

            "That's lovely, Mihoshi.  But you must be getting very tired from telling me your story.  Perhaps we should go back to bed."  Kagato suppressed a yawn as she looked up at the clock.  It was nearly 5 A.M.

            "Tired?  I'm not really that tired."

            "No, Mihoshi.  You must be worn out from your little swim."

            "Oh, I'm not really that tired.  The water must have woken me up or something."

            "Just shut up and go to bed."

_____

Washu 101 

            Ayeka sat primly, her hands folded neatly before her, and silently counted backwards from one thousand in Juraian, Galaxy Standard, and Japanese to stay awake.  Ryoko yawned massively, and practiced trying to will her soul away from her body without actually doing it.  Ryo-ohki squirmed in Sasami's lap, disinterested by the proceedings.  Tenchi looked mildly frightened, but took copious notes.

            Welcome to Washu 101.

            Washu stood at her lectern, pointer in hand, and gestured to her viewgraph projections.  Oh, how she loved making them.  Pie charts and bar graphs danced merrily on the screen, one colorful image proceeding after the other.  "And so you see class, based on my observations I think we can safely assume that…"

            "Good morning, Professor.  I was not aware that you were still giving classes these days.  What a lovely surprise," Kagato said as she stepped into the room through what appeared to be a floating doorway that entered in from the dining room.  Behind her a noticeably sleep-deprived Mihoshi peered in quizzically.  "You should have informed me so that I could have sat in as your assistant.  You were always terrible when it came to grading papers on time."

            "You!  How did you get in here?"

            "I had a little help from my good friend here," Kagato said, gesturing absently toward Mihoshi.  "Additionally, you haven't changed your classroom access codes in over six thousand years.  How very careless of you."

            "Well, either come in and take a seat or leave, because I'm trying to teach class here."

            Kagato smirked and strolled in, casually draping herself into a chair that appeared immediately underneath her as she sat, the desk blinking into existence before her.  She smiled toothily at Tenchi who turned away, looking embarrassed.  Mihoshi followed suit, and promptly hit the floor with a clattering thump.  

            "Ow!"

            "Are you all right, Mihoshi?"  Ayeka turned in her seat as Mihoshi rubbed her sore backside with one hand and dragged herself into the desk that blinked into existence about half a foot away from her.

            "Ow…I'm okay, but that really hurt."

            Ayeka looked at Mihoshi carefully.  There seemed to be something different about her this morning, something she couldn't quite place.

            "Is that pond-grass in your hair?"

            "Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I think it's safe to assume that our little *visitor* is most likely a clone based off the original Kagato."  Washu signaled for the next slide, which showed a particularly dated image of a younger male Kagato making a particularly obscene gesture, his hair a frazzled puffball about his head.  Ryoko began snickering uncontrollably as Washu continued, undaunted.

"However, Kagato's current appearance and lack of a complete memory is probably due to a corrupted signal sent in the final seconds of his death, coupled with the normative error margins expected in cloning.  This magnified the allowable percentage of error past the acceptable levels, resulting in what we see today."  Emphatically, she set down her pointer.

"Any questions?"

            Kagato raised her hand ironically, and then proceeded to speak anyway, much to Washu's chagrin.  "Really, Washu.  I didn't know you had such an interest in me.  I must say that I'm quite flattered," Kagato said as she discreetly crunched a probe underneath the heel of her shoe.

            "I wouldn't have to be giving this little class if you weren't so stupid as to build your own damn cloning gear, Kagato.  I know that's why you're like this, because you were having too much fun playing engineer to go and buy a real kit.  Why did you have to go off and build your own and end up making such a big mess?  Oh, I know.  Because you're an egotistical moron."

            "You make me feel so special, professor."

            "Oh, you're special all right.  So special that I'd love for you to be my assistant today in our class experiment.  I just need you to sit in this chair while I take some measurements."  Immediately a chair appeared, bristling with restraints and measuring devices.  Tenchi looked noticeably paler.

            "But Washu, this isn't exactly the ideal time for fun and games, now is it?  To remove all our clothing in front of all these people?  And what would our daughter think?"  Kagato feigned coquettish, batting her eyelashes appropriately.

            "Daughter?"  Ryoko was on the verge of an apoplexy.

            Washu's eye twitched perceptibly.

            "Didn't your mommy ever tell you anything, little Ryoko?"  Kagato turned to Ryoko.  "Sometimes, when mommies and daddies get very drunk and have access to a fully equipped biogenetic laboratory, they get some masu, they get naked and…"

            "…And I think it's time for a certain someone to get the hell out of my laboratory," Washu broke in, furious.  Ryoko kept blinking, speechless, as the others looked away guiltily, uncomfortable for having stumbled upon the galaxy's oddest family-like spat.  A plain door appeared in thin air as Washu gestured impatiently and slammed open, little markers pointing the way out in a dozen languages, politely informing the user not to let it slam on their hindquarters on the way out.

            "Fine.  If you don't want me in your laboratory, I shall go to mine.  If anyone wants to come along, please feel free to join us.  Let's go, Mihoshi."  Kagato stood up, and absently swatted a little flying probe into non-existence.  Mihoshi quickly stumbled to her feet, glancing back and forth between Kagato and Washu.

            "You keep Mihoshi out of this, buster, or I'll…I'll…" 

            "You'll what, kill me again?  You know, dying is always more fun the second time around.  Don't think that I don't have any backups, because I always have backups.  Always."

            With that, a pulsating doorway appeared, a glimmering matrix of black and green energy coalescing together to form a subspace gateway.  The darkness beyond was impenetrable.

            "Anyone else coming?"  Kagato smiled, all teeth and no amusement.  Without warning, she stepped through the portal.   Mihoshi shrugged and followed suit.

            In a flash, Tenchi was at his feet.  "You girls stay here.  I'll go after Mihoshi."

            "No Tenchi, it's too dangerous.  You can never trust Kagato.  I'll go with you," Ryoko's eyes gleamed dangerously, fueled by a deadly anger.

            "I shall go as well.  Sasami, you must stay here where it is safe."  Ayeka steeled herself as the three of them entered the subspace portal.

            Washu turned to Sasami, who just shrugged.

            "Well, I guess it's up to me to get them home."  Washu said, pulling off her professorial robes to reveal her day-to-day work uniform beneath.  Striding up to the portal, she paused for a moment.

            "Don't worry, Sasami.  I'm sure we'll be back by dinner," Washu said confidently, as she stepped into the portal and winked out of existence.

            "I hope they'll be all right, Ryo-ohki," Sasami said to the little cabbit in her arms.  Ryo-ohki mewed sympathetically.

            Suddenly, Ryo-ohki perked up her long ears.  Seconds later, Washu came tumbling head-over-heels out of the portal, which in a near-blinding flash of light, its colors unbalanced into a rainbow swirl before unsteadily coalescing back into black and green.

            Washu felt herself over for damage, making sure that nothing was broken.  "Ow…damnit!  That bitch is going to pay when I…"

            Sasami giggled helplessly.  "Um, Washu…there's something stuck to the back of your shirt."

            Washu half-turned, before reaching back to tear off a piece of paper that had been neatly pinned to the back of her uniform coat.

            "You must be at least this tall to get on this ride."

            Washu's eye twitched.

_____

            Tenchi's first impression was purple.  And a lot of it.  

            "Th…this is Kagato's lab?" Purple bed-curtains were draped above the prominently placed four-poster bed, which was spread with a white-and-purple coverlet.  Green-speckled formica-topped tables and countertops provided resting places for books, personal effects, tools, and occasional pieces of artwork.  One wall was completely taken up by a pipe organ, though not nearly as grand as the one Tenchi remembered from the Souja.  The only things vaguely resembling what Tenchi thought of as laboratory-like were the stone walls and the stainless steel floor, though it was mostly covered with knit purple-throw rugs.

             "Oh god, not this…please not this…Anything but this…" Ryoko's anger vanished in a flash of mortification.  She tried averting her eyes from the horror, but it was too late.  Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment 

            "Ooooh!  Is that velour?"  Mihoshi pranced merrily over to a nearby chair.  "Oh, it's so soft and snuggly!" she exclaimed as she bounced happily in the cushy seat.  She petted the arm of the chair as if it were a cat and rubbed the side of her cheek against a purple throw pillow.

            "Oh…my.  Where are we?"  Ayeka asked, confused.  She had expected something a little more along the lines of the interior of the Souja, and had definitely never imaged that they would have ended up in what appeared to her as a boudoir.  

            "We're in Kagato's room," Ryoko said.  "Something wrong must have happened when we went through that portal."  She gave Mihoshi a pointed look.  Mihoshi ran off to look at the pipe organ that had caught her attention, Kagato following in her wake.

            Ayeka nodded sympathetically.  "Yes, I see.  But did…did he always have these statues?"  Ayeka delicately pointed at one of the prominent statues of an unidentified but gloriously naked man.

             "Yes."  Ryoko winced.  

            "Were they…always naked?"

            "Yes."

            "Mmm-hmm.  This organ doesn't seem to be nearly as big as I remembered."  Mihoshi stated.  "No, it isn't nearly as big as it used to be."

            "Mihoshi, this is a different one.  The big one blew up with the ship."  Kagato looked about impatiently as people wandered around her old bedroom. 

            Mihoshi sat down at the bench, and put her fingers above the keys.

            "I didn't ever expect that you'd have such a small organ.  How do you get any satisfaction out of it?"

            Kagato was momentarily speechless.

            Mihoshi put her hands on the keys.  "Maybe I'll just give it a little test and see if it's any good."

            "Don't touch my organ."

            Mihoshi set her fingers down.  A beautifully complex chord filled the air with music, startling the others.  Kagato's jaw dropped.

            "Well, I guess it's okay," Mihoshi said as she began to peck out a simple little child's ditty with two fingers.  "It's tiny but you can sort of get something out of it."

            Kagato's eye twitched.  Seven thousand one hundred fifty-one.  Seven thousand one hundred fifty-nine.  Seven thousand one hundred seventy-seven…

            "So…so he slept here?" Ayeka stepped gingerly, trying very hard not to touch anything or breathe too much.  The air exuded a light scent that she could only identify as something Tenchi referred to as 'new car smell.'  She averted her eyes from a particularly prominent statue.

            "Well…sort of.  This was where he entertained."  If she recalled correctly, there should be some alcohol around here somewhere…alcohol always made the purple a bit more bearable.  Rummaging through the drawers of a nearby dresser only yielded drawer after drawer filled with dozens of pairs of white gloves.  Resigned, Ryoko plopped herself down on one of the chairs, and idly wondered where Kagato had kept his main controller unit.  

            "Entertained?"  Tenchi asked as he sat down in the chair facing Ryoko.  Immediately, little screens popped out around him, and he half-jumped in astonishment.  Afraid to touch any of the screens, he resigned himself to sitting back as far away from them as possible.

            "Entertained.  He would bring guests here."  Ryoko shivered from the memory.

            "I didn't think that Kagato would have been the type to have guests," Ayeka said.  "What kind of guests were they?"

            "Well, let me put it like this.  It wasn't business.  And they were pretty regular sometimes.  And pretty.  He liked them pretty."

            "Heh, I guess Kagato must have been a real ladies man," Tenchi joked.

            "They weren't always ladies."

            "Oh."

            "Oh my."

"Nope.  I don't get it at all," Mihoshi stated firmly.  Kagato took another deep breath.  Her fingers itched with the desire to throttle some reason into Mihoshi who had somehow managed to access the room's central computer system without actually doing anything that Kagato could detect.  Kagato was uncertain as to how Mihoshi did it, as she was almost completely certain that Mihoshi had no augments that could let her access higher-level computer systems like this.  Kagato reached over to manually shut the floating screen off.  It stayed on, stubbornly.

"What part do you not understand?  We are in subspace, and we are not on the Souja.  The Souja was destroyed.  If this room was on the Souja, then it too would have been destroyed."

"But where are we if we're not in the Souja?"  

"In subspace!  Subspace!  And don't touch that." Mihoshi started pressing randomly on the screen, and immediately, light music filled the air with a whimsical brass beat.  Kagato glared at her, and tried closing the screen again.  It stayed on, stubbornly.  Kagato's hands quivered from suppressed rage.

"Most of the Souja was taken up by systems such as those that power and arm it.  What did you think was in the Souja?  Kareoke bars?"

Mihoshi thought about it for a second.  "I guess not, now that you mention it…" Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

"Oh, what's this?"  Mihoshi reached out for a controller discreetly tucked into one of the niches near the organ.

"Don't touch it."

"Ooh, it's shiny.  Can I touch it?"

"Don't touch it!"

Suddenly, a three-dimensional hologram flicked into view, catching the attention of all in the room.  Unlike most of the small holographic recording devices that were used for quick correspondence, this one had a lushly detailed and textured image.  A bountiful and half-clad image.  Jaws dropped, eyes bulged, and at least one pair of noses bled.

"Kagato-sama," a sweet voice intoned, "I'm so hot.  Do you want me to take off my clothes, or should I just go back in the water like this?"  A woman with long loose dark hair in an open water-soaked red embroidered robe coyly touched the clinging fabric that was half falling off her shoulders.

            Ryoko had never seen Kagato move faster than when she ran over to wrestle the controller from Mihoshi and attempt to turn off the hologram.  It stayed on, stubbornly.

            "Kagato-sama," the girl continued, unabashed, her hands straying to her breasts.  "Do I please you?  Please let me please you, because if you don't, I'll be sad."  Her eyes sparkled.  Ayeka and Ryoko simultaneously glared at Tenchi, who miserably lowered his eyes to the ground while fishing out a handkerchief for his nose.

            "Before any of you asks, I did not program this," Kagato muttered as she fiddled with the controller.  Nothing appeared to be wrong with it, but it wouldn't turn off.

            "Kagato spent three weeks on it," Ryoko stated blandly.  "I know.  I was there."

            "Quiet."

            "He asked me for my opinion on the clothing."

            "Will you stop that?"

            "I don't think he slept more than two hours a night when he was working on it."

            "Damnit."

            "Did you know that you can actually change the sexes of the characters in the program?  Gimme the controller, Kagato, I wanna show Mihoshi."

            "RYOKO!"

            "Ryoko?"  All eyes turned to the origin of the new voice, and there in the middle of a room, the black and green portal matrix appeared, and a small foot followed suit, on its way in.

            "It's time for dinner everyone," Sasami said, as her knee touched the portal, part-way in.  But before she could complete a full step in, she found herself suddenly back in Washu's lab, Ryoko and Ayeka flanking her on either side, each one holding one of her arms.

            "Um, is everything all right in there?"  Sasami asked, as the girls set her down.  Mihoshi, followed by a slightly pale looking Tenchi and a very irked Kagato, reentered Washu's laboratory.  As they returned, the portal blinked out of existence.

            "Everything's just fine!  Kagato has all sorts of neat toys.  I got to play with them," Mihoshi said, smiling happily at Kagato.  Kagato winced.

            "Toys?  What kind?  Were they fun?  Did you get to play with them?  Do you think I could?" Sasami replied.

            "NO!"

_____

Later that evening… 

            "So then, we were in this big, really big spaceship and there were all these tiny little alien things and oh my, I'd never seen anything like them before.  Anyway, they were sooo cute, and sooo sweet that I just wanted to take one home, because I thought it would be a really great friend for my man-eating Zoatl that I've got in this cage in my office and…and did I ever tell you about my Zoatl?  I named him Shinji because he's just like this one boy I knew when I was in the academy, and he's about four or five inches tall, so when I mean man-eating, I mean he does it really slowly and when he's really hungry and…and…Kagato?  Did you fall asleep, Kagato?"

            "Huh?  Oh, no…I'm…still awake…" Kagato blinked blearily.  It had been a really lovely dream.  Things had been exploding in a most satisfactory manner, and it wasn't because of Mihoshi.  Kagato looked around sleepily, reorienting herself.  They had been having after-dinner tea and fruit in the living room, the others having opted to take advantage of an unexpected warming in the weather to take an evening stroll to check for budding cherry blossoms.

            It took her a few seconds longer than it should have, but suddenly she realized she had fallen asleep on the couch leaning against Katsuhito.  Kagato flinched away from him, almost violently.

            "Perhaps it's time for you girls to go to bed," Katsuhito stated.  "It is getting late."  With that, he set down his emptied mug of tea, stood up, and left the room, leaving Kagato to wonder exactly how much he had noticed or cared.  Though it was pretty clear that Mihoshi had done neither.

            "I think that sounds like a great idea.  Let's go, Kagato."  Mihoshi stood, and offered her hand to Kagato. 

            "I don't think so."

            "How come?"  Mihoshi's lower lip trembled.  "I thought we were roommates."

            "The past-tense is appropriate.  I will be resting in my own quarters from now on.  But I will thank you for helping me find it again."

            "But…but…but…" Mihoshi sniffled.  Kagato winced, preparing herself for the worst.  Instead, Mihoshi gave her one last tearful look, and clattered upstairs.  

            Kagato scowled, uncomfortable.  The cloning system must have inputted more errors and imperfections than she would have previously guessed; these unseemly emotional weaknesses felt so inefficient.  It was ridiculous to dwell on such sentimentalism.  Useless.  

But the insecurity of it made her feel almost just a little bit…just a little bit scared.

            She shook her head as if to shake off the feeling.  With a small gesture, the subspace gateway formed, and she stepped through into the sparkling darkness.

_____

Three hours later… 

In the darkness, a tiny sound tapped against the wood of the door.  Tentatively.  Rhythmically.  Then, impatiently.

12:10 A.M.  

            Mihoshi crawled out of the warm depths of her futon to open the door.  Before her stood Kagato in her pink bunny pajamas, her hair a tussled mess, a plush bunny tucked in her arms.

            "Kagato?"

            "Mihoshi."

            "Are you okay?"

            "Yes."  Kagato paused, as if struggling with the words.  Mihoshi waited patiently.  "Do you mind…do you…can I…that is…if…if you don't…don't…"

            "It's okay," Mihoshi smiled brightly.  "I'll help you set up the futon."  

            "Thanks."

Disclaimers and thanks:  
Characters belong to AIC/Pioneer.  
Thanks to the following people (in no particular order) for helping/contributing jokes:  Fish (some of the contents of Kagato's bedroom), Rowsdower ("all wet" and prereading), Geoduck (new car smell), LittlePriest (pre-reading, etc), Bglanders (white gloves), SC (pre-reading, etc), Drakstern (for convincing me to use a dating sim) and whoever else I may have missed.  You know who you are.  J

Please feel free join us in #muyoff on Dal.net for Tenchi fanfiction discussion and general chat. http://www.muyo.org/muyoff/muyoff.html 

Author's notes (randomly):   
In one draft, Afro Kagato (Kagafro!  Afro Kags!) was going to have a more "black power" pose, complete with hair pick (suggested by LP).  
Mihoshi is playing "Chopsticks" on the organ.  
The music that Mihoshi turns on in the bedroom is "Spanish Flea" by Herb Alpert.   
The dating sim girl is Akiko.  
Mihoshi's post-dinner ramble is very loosely based on Excel Saga, episode 2.  
  
Questions and comments can be sent to cori_ohki@hotmail.com. Thank you for reading.

Movie night at the Masakis!  Is one of the girls pregnant?  And what is Ryo-ohki really saying?  Chapter 3 is on its way!  


	4. Chapter 3: Pickles and Ice Cream

Second Chances Chapter 3

Pickles and Ice Cream

Part 1.  I am not Yousho.  I am really Jesus.

            For many, the first thought of the morning tends to breakfast.  Pancakes or waffles?  Sausage or bacon?  Rice and miso soup?  Congee?  Croissants?  Fruit?  Breakfast burritos?  Yogurt?  Bagels?  Menudo?

            Kagato's first thought was sausage.  It wasn't the hot and tasty kind, though some would argue that.  Perhaps it was because she woke up near one.  A rather alert one.

            Kagato sat up in a flash.  "You."  Her eyes glowed dangerously.  Sparks of energy flashed between her fingertips, disappearing as suddenly as they appeared in a whiff of dissipation.  Outside, the droning of summer cicadas filled the air with sound.

            "Oh my goodness."  Yousho sat up, his long dark hair rumpled, glasses long forgotten.  The morning sun glanced along his youthful features, and decided to stay, illuminating his clear flower-red eyes.  He fumbled around for a piece of clothing and a sense of dignity, having somehow removed all of it at some point in the night.

            The next bits of conversation took no more than ten or fifteen seconds to complete.

            "What happened?"

            "I don't remember."

            "I don't either."

            "We were drunk."

            "Very."

            "Ah."  Yousho paused, disrupting the flow of accusation and consternation.  "This is a…predicament." Yousho stood up, his back turned to Kagato, pulling on his boxers.

            Kagato quirked an eyebrow and wondered if she should admire the view or break something.  Or someone.  

"My pants.  Where are they?"

            It started off innocently enough, with goodbyes.

            "What do you mean?  That is terribly unfair."  Kagato scowled.

            "Don't pout," Washu grinned.

            "I am not pouting," Kagato pouted.  "You give me no reason to be left behind here with…with…" She gestured impatiently at Katsuhito and Sasami, who both looked at each other and shrugged.

            "Yes we do.  You, little lady, aren't old enough to come watch movies with us."  Washu's grin grew larger, threatening the structural integrity of her face.  "In fact, you're not even a year old."

            "That is preposterous.  I have at least five thousand years of…"

            "Can it, pretty boy.  No one wants to hear your stupid stories," Ryoko stuck her tongue out.  Kagato suppressed the urge to return the sentiment.

            "Fine.  Enjoy your evening.  I am sure mine will be far more eventful than some pathetic local entertainment," Kagato growled.

            "Goodbye!  We'll see you later!"  Sasami broke in, Ryo-ohki managing a little wave of her own from the top of her head.

            "We won't be out too late," Tenchi added.  "Have fun!"

            "Have fun…" Kagato muttered, the rest of the words trailing off into something indecipherable.

            "Well, I'm sure we can come up with something," Katsuhito said blandly.  "Perhaps we could have some tea and do some reading?"  Nothing like good ole tea and reading.

            "We do that every night.  It grows tiresome."  Kagato scowled.  "And besides, I wanted to see what this 'downtown' of yours looks like."

"Let's have our own movie night!"  Sasami said, smiling up at the two.  "We can make some popcorn, and there's sodas in the fridge…it'll be fun!"

Or not. 

            "Tamahome!" 

            "Miaka!"

            "Tamahome!"

            "Miaka!"

            "Tamahome!"

            "Miaka!"

            Sasami watched, enraptured, her face slightly flushed with emotion.

            Kagato leaned over to Katsuhito.  "What is this?" she whispered.

            "Anime."

            "I think I would rather die again.  It was far more enjoyable."

            "We can go outside."

            Two pairs of eyes glanced at the screen.  Then Sasami.  Then back to each other.

            Suddenly, two pairs of feet hit the ground with determination, and two pairs of knees straightened up.  

            "Sasami-chan, I'm going to go outside for a…I need to…" Katsuhito stumbled.

            "…We need to make sure that there is still water in the lake," Kagato finished.

            Sasami sighed, barely noticing the two leave.  The two lovers had finally found each other after so much searching and separation…

            "Tamahome!"

            "Miaka!"

            "And you say you're a genius.  Water in the lake?"  Katsuhito gently scoffed.  The summer sun slowly sank into the distance, the tall shadows of the mountains staining the forest with darkness.

            "Perhaps it changes seasonally," Kagato shrugged, annoyed at being wrong.  "It's like that in some places, especially when it's hot like this." She kicked at a pebble in the path.  The lake's water was indeed safe, thanks to the forces of nature.  Ahead, they continued on toward the long steps of the shrine, its red gate gleaming in the falling light.

            "I suppose you've been to a lot of places," Katsuhito looked at Kagato.  Her face had grown thoughtful, free from its usual cynicism.

            "Yes.  Many places.  None like this one, though," she mused.  "I suppose it's the company."

            "The company?"

            "I'm used to being alone."  They stopped at the foot of the stairs.

            "Would you prefer that?" Katsuhito absently scratched his chin.

A pause.  The two of them gauged each other with a certain calculated look, perhaps a touch of tension, a bit of wariness.  Above, the traces of stars and the glowing hint of the moon began appearing.

            "No.  Let's go."

            And BOY did they get drunk.

            Kagato giggled, almost charmingly.  "I did not know you had managed to hide an entire cooling unit up here inside of that cabinet.  I had always thought that this office was far too primitive for such niceties."  She reached her cup out toward him tipsily.

            "It's called a mini-fridge.  Where else would I keep my good saké out of Ryoko's greedy little hands?" Katsuhito grinned, pouring them each another cup.  "That's not all I have in it though."

            "Oh?  Something fun?"  Kagato drawled lazily, swirling the delicate saké around in the heavy tea mug, the only cups Katsuhito had up in his office.

            "Fun and delicious," Katsuhito grinned as he rummaged through the mini-fridge.  "I keep them here especially during the summertime for days just like this."

            "When you entertain charming ladies that were originally ruins-busting men?"  Kagato laughed, amused by her own little joke.

            "Not that at all," Katsuhito said, bringing out some plastic-wrapped items.  "Here, have one."

            "What's this?"  Kagato held up the crackly oblong package.  She raised an ironic eyebrow at Katsuhito.  "Is this something that two people do together?"

            "I doubt that it's what you think it is.  It's an ice-pop.  Hold it by the wooden stick," Katsuhito replied, as he unwrapped his own.

            "'Unwrap the plastic first before eating,'" Kagato smiled, quoting Sasami.  "Oh, but those dried fruit sheets would have been the death of me had she not pointed that out."  Somehow she managed to open the packaging and unwrap the popsicle while still hanging onto her mug of saké.

             "Dexterous," Katsuhito noted.

            "I'm quite talented," Kagato responded.  "Many years of juggling two careers in science and high crime while raising a killing machine."  She took an experimental lick of the light green ice-pop.  She had enough earthly experiences to identify that as lime.  Yum.

            Katsuhito laughed, somehow finding that to be funny.  It had to have been the drink, he thought, for that was tasteless to the extreme.  He took a taste of his own light yellow popsicle.  Lemon.  He frowned.  He had been hoping for banana.

            "Oh, it feels good," Kagato sighed, before rolling the tip of the popsicle in her mouth.  A bit of green liquid dripped along the length and she licked it up deftly before it could fall.

             "It's…well, the thing you do on a hot evening," Katsuhito turned a shade pinker than his already flushed state.  "At least around here."

            "I know what the other thing is," Kagato grinned conspiratorially.  "Want to know?"  Her tongue touched the tip of the popsicle.

            "W…hat is it?"

            "Take it off."  Kagato's eyes turned almost predatory.

            "What?!"

            "The disguise.  I'm not that naïve.  You're not what you appear to be."

            "I don't know what are you talking ab…Ah!"  Suddenly, almost faster than he could recognize, Kagato was pressed up against him, her scarlet-in-yellow eyes boring into his, her popsicle pointed directly at him, as if a substitute for the glowing shard of green that she could have easily summoned.

            "Do it.  I want to see."  Kagato's eyes gleamed, her usually pale face flushed with drink and excitement.  The popsicle dripped in the heat.

            "There's nothing to…aah!"  Katsuhito blinked, as the popsicle disappeared from Kagato's hand, replaced by a familiar device.

            "Don't make me use it.  I've stayed my curiosity for long enough, and if I use this to neutralize you, Washu will be here in an instant.  So, little prince, will you let me see?  Or do we get our dear Washu-chan involved?  This is quite a sordid scene, you know."

            Katsuhito frowned, and then shrugged helplessly.  "Don't tell anyone else."  In an instant, the mask of age dropped, and he was young again, his flower-red eyes seeming perhaps a little more brilliant, his hair dark as the night outside.  Wrinkles disappeared, replaced with youthful skin, his chin smooth and clean-shaven.

            Kagato smiled, a finger trailing along Yousho's cheek before settling on the edge of his glasses.  

            "I don't suppose you need these," she said.

            "No."

            "I really don't need these either," she tossed away her pince-nez.  They disappeared into thin air, caught by some unseen subspace pocket.  "They just look cool."

            "So that's why you wear them?"

            "Not really.  It's a long story," Kagato smiled languidly.  "Is there anything else you want to take off?  It's quite hot in here."  The device disappeared, and the popsicle returned.  Kagato licked it with a flourish.

            "That should be illegal."

            "It is, on at least forty-six separate planets," she continued, making him more than a little uncomfortable.

            "You've had these before?"

            "Of course.  I've had many things before."  Kagato smiled sharply.  "Never a prince though."

            "Oh."

Meanwhile, in another part of Japan…

Apricot-sama set down the doujinshi.  "I hear chastity being defiled."

            Ayeka brushed back a stray lock of violet hair.  It was a lovely morning, the cicadas were going full-force, and it had cooled off a little overnight, making the weather just right.  She hummed sweetly to herself as she made her way up the shrine steps, on her way to get her brother down for breakfast.  

He often stayed the night in the shrine office – no surprise there, the tatami-matted floor was deliciously cool to sleep on.  Now Kagato, on the other hand, no one knew where she was.  Ayeka was hoping she had run off somewhere, probably to leave this "pathetic planet," and good riddance.  One evil monster woman was quite enough, thank-you-very-much.  Two was completely out of control.

            She stopped at the top of the steps to look back down, the day gloriously clear, the golden morning light flooding the air.  A bright smile came over her face.  It was going to be a wonderful day.  

            Then she turned toward the shrine office.

            There are those that say ignorance is bliss.  Then, there are others that say that there is no knowledge that is not worth having.  Now, whatever Ayeka believed was really up to her, but in retrospect, running off into the forest screaming would have probably been a better idea than eavesdropping.  After all, the screaming forest part wouldn't be permanently scarring and would provide a measure of aerobic exercise.

            As she stepped up to knock on the door, she heard Katsuhito's familiar voice.  Then another.

            "Don't tell me you've never done this before."

            "Of course not.  But what makes you think that this happens all the time?"

            "I'm sure I don't know.  Not with half the galactic tabloids accusing you of this, that, and the other.  All these years I had thought that you were Jurai's personal colonizer, sowing the universe with her bastards."

            "That's ridiculous."

            "So claims of your potency are overrated?  Pass me my bra, please."

            "That…that's not what I meant.  What about you?  Tenchi told me about your room."

            "That, my dear prince, is a secret."

            "How many have passed through those doors?  Oh, there's my pants.  How did it get in here?"

            "No idea, perhaps you wanted them chilled.  And the answer is none of your business, by the by."

            A pause.  Some noises, unidentifiable.  The blood drained out of Ayeka's face.

            "Well then, shall we?  Sasami is probably waiting for us for breakfast."

            "This is between only you and me."

            "Agreed."

            Suddenly the door opened.  Ayeka yelped, startled.

            "B-brother!  Y-you!"  Katsuhito and Kagato stopped at the doorframe, both surprised to see Ayeka there.

            Kagato quickly recovered.  "Good morning, princess," she said with more than a dash of sarcasm.  Ayeka glared at her, only to notice that Kagato looked perceptibility tired, visible shadows under her eyes.  Katsuhito looked the same.  Kagato smiled back at her, almost…almost pleasantly.  It took all of Ayeka's court training to not slap her silly.

            "I'm sure we'll talk later, sweet prince," Kagato's lips parted in a smile.  "I'll see you both in a few."  With that, she blinked out of existence.

            "BROTHER!  What have you been doing?!"

            "Listen, Ayeka, I…OW!"

Part 2: Hello, Baby

            "Miya?"

            "No, this is not for you.  You, little cabbit, should not be eating ice cream.  I'm sure it would interfere with your processes.  Did you want me to get you a carrot?"  Kagato busily sliced up pickles of differing sorts: daikon, cucumbers, umeboshi, kimchi…

            "Miya." 

            "Shut up.  It's not going to my thighs.  I have an excellent metabolic rate.  Here, eat this."  She handed Ryo-ohki a pickled carrot slice.  Ryo-ohki turned up her nose at the offering.

            "Miya miya miya." 

            "I have not gained weight.  Don't make me send you back to Washu."

            "Miyaaa."

            "You, little cabbit, had better watch that mouth of yours.  It is quite foul."

            "Miya."

            "No, last night was uneventful.  Boring."

            "Miya?  Miya."

            "I…how do you know?"

            "Miya."

            "Oh, so you got bored too?  Well, you shouldn't be eavesdropping.  I could still reprogram you if I wanted."

            "Miya."

            "Okay, I can't.  But I could look it up."

            "Miya."

            "Shut up."

            "Miya."

            "No, he did not stick his 'carrot' into anything."

            "Miya."

            "Nor did I put anything in my mouth."

            "Miya."

            "Nor there."

            "Miya?" 

            "No, not in that one either.  You've a dirty mind."

            "Miya."

            "Quiet, you little brat."

            "Miyaaa."

            "Oh, you had better not have told *her* about it."

            "Miya!"  

            "Better not tell her about what?" Sasami wandered into the kitchen.  

            "It-it's really nothing important," Kagato stammered.  "In any case, perhaps you should take Ryo-ohki with you when you leave," she added, finishing the last of the chopping and washing the knife, before giving it a threatening shake at Ryo-ohki.  Ryo-ohki scratched at her ear nonchalantly.

            "Ooh, what are you making?"

            "Just a little afternoon snack.  It's hot today." Kagato said, as she dumped the contents of the cutting board into a bowl and began mixing it with melon ice cream.

            "That…that doesn't look so good."  Sasami made a face.  "Are you sure about that?"

            "Of course.  Salt and sweet are nicely balanced, as well as sour.  A touch of spice, and perfection.  Plus, it's cold," Kagato added, taking a bite.  "Ah, delicious."

            "Can I try some?"

            "You may."  

            Sasami got out a spoon from a drawer, and dug in enthusiastically, with predictable results.  

            "Um, Miss Kagato?"  Sasami said, once she was able to talk again.

            "Yes?"

            "This tastes worse than Ryoko's cooking."

            "Oh."  She took another spoonful.  "Well, I like it."

            "Oooh!  What are you making?"  Mihoshi asked as she clattered into the kitchen, her arms full of an assortment of odd bits and pieces of things scavenged from her GP ship.  Books, cosmetics…even a pair of underwear hit the counter in a multitude of sounds.  If one was listening closely, one might have even heard a faint 'puchuu.'

            "Pickles and ice cream," Sasami said as she washed her spoon.  "It's pretty gross."

            "Pickles and ice cream?"  Mihoshi's eyes grew big.  "Oooh!  Does…does this mean?  Does-does-does…Oh!"  She clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing around in a little circle.

            "Mean what?"  Kagato looked at Mihoshi quizzically over her spoon.  Licking it clean, she tapped it against the rim of the bowl, impatient.

            Mihoshi's eyes grew starry.  "How romantic!  I wonder who the lucky guy is!"

            "What?"  Tap tap.

            "Oh, I *have* to go tell Ryoko and Ayeka!  Oh!  Oh!!  What if it's Tenchi?  Oh my!"

            "What?  What if what's Tenchi?"  

            Mihoshi scattered out of the kitchen, books and toiletries forgotten.  A small but well-worn pamphlet fell to the ground.  Kagato leaned over to pick it up, careful not to let her snack tilt onto the floor in the process.

            "'The Joy of Lesbian Sex.'  Well, I'll never."

            "What's that?"

            "None of your business, little princess."

            "Weeeell…" Washu tapped her chin with her finger.  "She's managed to evade just about everything so far.  I don't think she's going to want to hold still for that."

            "That is why you must find out for us, Washu-chan.   Please?  You're the only one who can do it."  Ayeka looked miserable, wringing her fingers unconsciously, the morning's image of her brother remaining in her mind's eye.  Ryoko looked as though she was going to break something.  What about *her* Tenchi!?  With…with…

            "I wouldn't jump to conclusions if I were you two," Washu stood up from her laboratory seat.  The floating cushion bounced momentarily before regaining stability.  "After all, it could have been nothing.  This is Mihoshi we're talking about."

            "Yes, but do you really want little Kagato spawn running around?" Ryoko asked.  "You better go make sure that this is just a rumor."

            Washu had a sudden image of a dozen little hellions running around the Masaki residence.  Half-Juraian, half-…  She shuddered.

            "Fine."  Washu slammed her fist into midair, and a full arsenal of items appeared out of thin air, hitting the floor with a clatter.  Ayeka started.  Ryoko just smiled.

            "Let's see what's going on."  Washu snapped her fingers, and a pair of sunglasses appeared in her hands.  "Lock and load," she grinned.

            Plan 3928: Target – Kagato.

            It was after dinner when they made their move.  Dinner came and went without incident, but for Kagato's forays into the forbidden realms of Iron Chefdom, proclaiming that this particular mixture of dried bonito flakes, ketchup, chili oil, peanut butter, and raspberry conserve was particularly auspicious on cold soba noodles, especially with a sprinkle of nutmeg.  At that time, both Ryoko and Ayeka shot Washu questioning looks, but she merely held up her hand.  Patience.

            From the kitchen, the happy clink and clank of dishes being washed.  Mihoshi and Sasami laughed merrily, Tenchi's voice joining in as he helped clear the table.  Katsuhito sat on the couch reading the newspaper, Kagato at his side.  She hummed pleasantly to herself as knitting needles flashed, a green and purple creation unfolding beneath her hands.

            From three directions they came, slinking along the shadows, the knowledge of their prey strongly impressed upon their minds.  Washu took center stage; Ryoko and Ayeka were merely witnesses.  It was up to her.

            "Hi Washu," Kagato said, not looking up.  "Have some watermelon.  It's very good."  The pleasant click of the knitting needles continued.

            Washu looked to the low coffee table, where glasses of ice-cold barley tea and slices of watermelon sat waiting.  Unfortunately tonight, they would have to continue waiting.

            Katsuhito was silent, but for the rustle of newspaper in his hands.  Still, Washu had the distinct impression that he was somehow watching her through the blandly boyish picture of Leonardo DiCaprio (Nippon Times headline: "Leonardo's a Big Fat Baka").  She shook her head as if shaking off the thought.

            "Thanks."  Washu sat down across from Kagato, staring at the knitting needles.  They went by fairly quickly, with the kind of single-minded precision that suited Kagato's character.  "Whatcha makin'?"

            "Some socks," Kagato lifted her work up.  "I believe they're known as 'booties,'" she added.  A tiny pair of green with purple trim socks hung along the half-knitted work.

            Washu scrunched her face.  It didn't look good, she thought.  Mihoshi may not have been exaggerating.  "So, um, who's it for?"

            "For my baby, of course."  Washu blinked.  Gasps of horror filled the air as Ryoko and Ayeka came racing into the room.  Katsuhito and Kagato found themselves suddenly cornered, Ryoko, Ayeka, and Washu looming over them.

            "B-b-b-b-b-baby?"  Ayeka stammered.  "W-w-w-w-what do you m-m-mean?"

            "What else would I mean?  Ryo-ohki of course."  Kagato looked up quizzically at the girls clustered around her.  "I've been watching this woman on the television.  I believe her name is 'Martha Stewart' or something of this like.  She gave me some excellent ideas."  Kagato shrugged.  "Besides, I think she looks good in this color."

            Face-fault to the left, face-fault to the right, and a significant sweat-drop in-between.

            "Is there something wrong?"

            "Perhaps you should have some tea," Katsuhito reached over and handed the half-fallen Ryoko a glass.  "It's very good."

            The glass lolled weakly in her hand as Ryoko stared, dumbfounded.

Part 3: That is called riding me.

            It took only a glance.  Kagato and Katushito looked at each other conspiratorially, a minute, easily missed look, if one was not paying very close attention.  The others sat around chatting pleasantly, having watermelon and tea.

            Katsuhito stood up.  "Goodnight everybody.  I'm going to the shrine tonight."  Without further notice, he folded his newspaper, set it down, and walked out.

            Kagato stood up.  "It's hot in here.  I'm going outside."  In a flash, she blinked out of existence.

            Washu, Ryoko, and Ayeka looked at each other.  The others bid their goodnights, and went off to bed, leaving the three to themselves.

            "Well?"  Ryoko said, once Sasami had trundled off to bed.

            "Of course we're going to follow them.  I've been tracking her for the last two minutes," Washu said, a screen appearing beneath her fingertips.

            "Let's go."  Ayeka stood up, a glow of power fainting tracing along her edges.

            "Shhh!"  Washu pressed her index finger against her lips.  Ryoko paused, her lips half-parted as if to speak, and then closed her mouth stoically, nodding.  Ayeka shivered, just a little bit, in the hot summer night.

            In the darkness, they waited.  The warm glow of light from the shrine was a welcome break from the shadows, and they made sure to keep low to the ground so that the light would not give them away.  

            Suddenly, voices.

            "So?  We didn't come all the way out here for nothing.  Did you want me to do it?"  Kagato, Washu mouthed silently.  Ayeka nodded.

            "Let's start"

            "Take it off."  Through the paper walls, they could see their silhouettes, moving.  Someone disrobed, long sleeves falling to the floor.  Katsuhito.  Their shadows lowered, moving toward the ground, one seemingly straddling the other.

            "Ahh…that feels good."

            "It should.  As you should know, I have a lot of practice in this."

            "I find that surprising."

            "There are many things about me that would surprise you."

            "What do you call it?"

            "That is called riding you."

            "Ah…oh…mmm…"

            Ayeka's eyes bulged.  It could not be!  Breaking her vigil, she steeled herself against the rampantly disturbing images bouncing around in her head, and ran up to the door of the shrine, slamming it open.

            "Oh, hello, Ayeka."  Kagato paused, her hands resting on Katsuhito's bare shoulders.  She was kneeling at his side, he was lying on his stomach against the cool tatami matted floor.

            "Ryoko.  Washu.  How nice of you to join us," Katsuhito added.  "Come in before you let all the bugs in."  

            Washu and Ryoko peeked in, both sighing in relief that everyone was for the most part decently clothed.  The door slid shut with a snap.

            "G-get your hands off of him, you…you..."Ayeka managed to say, after absorbing the initial shock.

            "I suppose we're done for tonight."  Kagato sat back on her heels as Katsuhito sat up, pulling his clothes on.

            "So what brings you ladies up to the shrine tonight?"  Katsuhito asked solicitously, folding his legs beneath him to sit straight up.  Washu, Ryoko, and Ayeka looked at each other, as if trying to encourage someone to speak first.

            "Weeeell…you two have been acting awfully strange," Washu said, finally.  

            "The pickles and ice cream," Ryoko added.  "Mihoshi told us all about it."

            "And what's this about…" Ayeka turned a brilliant shade of pink.  "Riding you?"

            Kagato and Katsuhito looked at one another.  

            "I suppose we should tell them the truth," Kagato said.

            "Yes.  You see girls," Katsuhito looked at them all very seriously.  "We're desperately in love and want to be married and start a family."

            "WHAT?!"

            "Just kidding."  Katsuhito grinned slyly.

            "Actually, he said he's been having shoulder pain.  So I've been coming up here to help work that out a bit.  Rie Ding Yu is an excellent massage technique from Latruciz.  You of all people should know that, Washu."

            "But…but what about…last night?"  Ayeka asked, hotly embarrassed.  "I overheard you this morning talking about…about…"

            "Oh that?"  Kagato looked a bit pink herself.  "Ah…"

            "We had a little bit too much to drink," Katsuhito stepped in neatly.  "It was hot, so we ended up a little on the under-dressed side before we fell asleep."

            "Nothing happened."  Kagato scowled.

            "Oh, thank god."  Collective sighs of relief were breathed as Kagato and Katsuhito looked at each other cynically.

            "Somehow I expected that."  Kagato finally said.  They sat on the roof of the shrine in the brilliant moonlit night, stars glimmering against the black canvas of the sky.  Beyond, the moon's clear light gleamed against the flat mirror of the lake.

            "Nothing surprises me anymore, not with those girls around," Yousho replied.  The trio had left, returning to the house, leaving the two alone at the shrine office.

            Kagato leaned against her knees, looking at Yousho's profile in the pale moonlight.

            "That looks good."

            "What does?"

            "You.  You should be yourself more often."

            "It's a long story."

            "It's always a long story."

            A pause.  The chirp of the crickets filled the warm night air.

            "They thought I was pregnant, didn't they?"

            "Yes."

            "How silly of them.  As if we wouldn't use protection."

            Yousho only smiled.  The air seemed to fall still, the crickets pausing in their symphony.  Suddenly, the wind picked up, cool and refreshing against the muggy summer night.  Dark clouds began forming on the edge of the horizon.

            "I suppose it will rain tomorrow."

            "Yes."

            "Too bad.  It's a beautiful night.  The stars look different from earth."

            "Yes."

            "Good night, sweet prince."

            "Good night."

            It wasn't that bad, after all.  Living again, that is.  Kagato walked along the edge of the lake, and stopped on a whim, kneeling beside the clear water.  She stared at it, seeing the reflection of the moon, the faint light of the stars, and eventually, the little fish that populated the waters.  It seemed to have never occurred to her that the world was so full of life, especially when for years she had seen planets only from a distance, gleaming jewels in the depths of space, fragile little gems that were a multitude, as carelessly strewn and diverse as a handful of glass marbles against a black asphalt surface.

            Unique, all of it.  She touched the water with the tip of her finger, disturbing the smooth tranquility.  Her reflection flickered in the moving water, and she smiled at it, before noticing a tiny hint of mirrored movement.

            Behind her, a figure loomed.  But before she could move, before she could cry out or attack or think, it had her.

            Water splashed as she struggled, but it was futile.  A sudden burst of pain and blackness.  She quickly sank into unconsciousness.  The figure paused, the water distorting its reflection, and absorbed her into itself.

            As quickly as it was disturbed, the waters returned to their previous serenity, the tiny fish once more darting about in the depths, carrying on with their lives.

            Above, a shadow loomed in the night sky, blotting out stars in its passage with its mysterious bulk.

Next, on Second Chances:

An old enemy returns (he's broke, by the way).  A new guy joins the household (temporarily).  So who's this boyfriend of yours, Kags-chan?

Author's notes:  

-"That is called riding me" is a line from an early draft of a Kagato/Azaka/Kamidake yaoi lemon by Slippery Eel ("Juraian Knights, Juraian Enemy").  I don't recommend reading it unless you like yaoi or have a strong stomach.  

-"I'm not really Yousho" comes from an Alienboy52 fic – it's Cyrus' favorite line.  

-I really like Fushigi Yuugi, so don't hate me too much.  

-Apricot comes from an online RPG that we messed around with: http://pub8.ezboard.com/fonkfrm2  Check out the summaries if you're interested in seeing that quote in context.

Thanks:  Thanks to all my prereaders: Cyrus, LittlePriest, and SC.  Special thanks to SC for letting me use her cabbit talk joke.


End file.
